By Nick A. Zaino III Globe correspondent, Updated December 27, 2023, 6:53 p.m.
After six years of teaching stand-up comedy at ImprovBoston, Kathe Farris will wrap up her final class in February. And this one will be bittersweet. The comedy nonprofit announced a few weeks back that it will “wind down all operations and activity over the coming months” after four decades. A few days after being told the news on a Zoom call with staff Dec. 11, Farris was still trying to process it.
“I don’t think the impact has really hit a lot of us,” she says. “It’s gonna be such a big hole in the community.”
“Community” is a word that crops up a lot in conversations with those who have been involved with ImprovBoston over the years. Farris took her first comedy course there in 2013 and began teaching in 2017. Since then, she estimates she has taught more than 250 students. The community-minded approach was instilled in her through her first instructor, Rob Crean, who not only taught comedy basics but also helped get Farris in front of audiences. When she got the chance to produce her own show at ImprovBoston, she created “Farris and Friends,” which put more seasoned comedians on the same bill with neophytes, to help encourage interaction and introduce performers to the local scene.
